MUSIC FROM LEFT FIELD

For CARTOON's second and final release they have added a violinist and woodwind player. In my opinion this one is not quite as good as the debut, but it's still excellent. It's really sad though that this great band called it quits back in the eighties. So talented. After this album was released it received great reviews, and the band started getting invites to go to Europe. So they decided to do a small tour over there. It was a huge success as they played in festivals with Christian Vander, John Greaves and many other like-minded bands. They even got to jam back stage with UNIVERS ZERO and listened to the yet unreleased ART ZOYD ballet. They were on top of the world, that is until someone stole the van they were renting and all their instruments, LPs, audio gear and clothes that were in it. It was all gone. Gone too was the spirit to carry on, they would never play again.

"Quotes" is the 15 1/2 minute epic and opening track. It opens with synths and lots of atmosphere as the sound builds. This is heavenly. It changes before 3 1/2 minutes in to a soundscape of intricate sounds that come and go. Piano, violin and drums end up leading the way 5 1/2 minutes in. I like the aggressive guitar a minute later. A change again 7 minutes in as the melody stops and we get lots of atmosphere. Flute, violin then piano 10 minutes in. It gets a little crazy before we get a great sound 13 minutes in. It ends in a haunting manner. "Bedlam" opens with funny vocal sounds. Love the intricate collage that follows, an incredible sounding melody. A weird steady noise sort of hums until the intricate melody returns before 3 minutes. Random sounds take over, then our melody is back again.

"Light In August" is dark and scary. Bass, French horn and synths are prominant. The tempo picks up after 1 1/2 minutes as the guitar comes in ripping it up. Nice. It then becomes very UNIVERS ZERO-like with the darkness, percussion and overall sound. Violin before 3 1/2 minutes. The guitar is back after 4 minutes as drums pound away. "Scherzo" sounds like they are having lots of fun with these incredible yet cartoonish melodies. "Bottom Of The Ninth" has a good melody, and I really like the sound of the guitar before a minute. It turns dark 1 1/2 minutes in without a melody until the previous one returns a minute later. Outbreaks of drums as keys are played before 3 1/2 minutes. People are yelling funny things in the background to end the song.

In the liner notes they say that this record was improvised to a preconceived form. A must for fans of Avant-gard music.